


Pancakes

by Pheylan



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Pancakes, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Spoilers for CA:TWS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 08:36:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1503905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pheylan/pseuds/Pheylan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Rogers finds Bucky Barnes.  Now can he coax his oldest friend into giving him a chance?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Spoilers for Cap 2.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pancakes

**Author's Note:**

> My muse has been Kermit flailing since the movie came out and jossed the last story I was struggling with. Then a short discussion with paradisepink over on Tumblr set her off and running again. 
> 
> Thanks to cluegirl for the quick beta.

Steve Rogers raced down the sidewalk dodging the other pedestrians and hoping he wasn’t too late. Ten minutes ago, he’d gotten a phone call from Tony Stark with the first lead to Bucky they’d gotten in the three weeks since the Helicarriers came down. “Not that we’ve been looking or anything,” Tony had said in that offhand way of his, “But Jarvis is pretty sure he caught your boy exiting the Smithsonian where they’ve got your stuff. Heading north on 14th.”

Steve came to a sudden stop at an intersection as lights changed and the traffic was against him. Seconds later he was thanking God as the homeless guy across the street looked up at the sound of a passing motorcycle. It was Bucky, he was sure. The lost look on his face matched the one Steve remembered when the Winter Soldier was trapped under a girder as the Helicarrier they were on began to fall apart. He was decidedly scruffier looking and yet the beard didn’t completely hide the cleft in his chin. Steve stepped back slowly into the crowd and waited for the light to change.

Eventually, the pedestrians were given permission to walk and Bucky made his way across the intersection. They were mere feet apart when Bucky came to a halt and stared at Steve.

“Bucky?” Steve asked softly praying the other man wouldn’t bolt.

It took a moment, but he finally answered his voice a bit rough. “Maybe?” Blue eyes glanced about rapidly before coming back to Steve. “I’m not the guy you knew, but I may have been him at one time?”

“You’re remembering?” Steve had to consciously keep himself from leaping forward and engulfing Bucky in a hug. The look on his friend’s face was heartbreaking.

“I…maybe. There are things in my head…” he trailed off with a frown. His right hand came up to rub his temple. “I know you,” he finally said looking back at Steve.

Steve nodded. “We were best friends – “

“Don’t!” Bucky interrupted. “You said that before, but I can’t…”

“Okay,” Steve replied quickly. “It’s okay. How about we start with something simple? You look like you could use a good meal.”

Bucky took a deep breath and thought about it. He finally nodded. “Yeah. I…I think I’m hungry.”

Steve smiled. “There’s a diner near here that I go to regularly. Nothing fancy, but the food is good. Can I buy you lunch?”

Bucky hesitated a moment, but finally nodded. “Okay.”

***

Steve had picked a booth in the back and Bucky had immediately taken the bench that gave him the best view of the exits. The waitress had come by quickly with the menus and a bright smile for Steve.

“Hiya, Captain. Iced tea?”

“Yes, please, Kathy,” Steve replied with his Captain America smile.

“And you?” Kathy’s smile got a little forced as she turned to Steve’s companion.

Bucky gave her a deer in the headlights look. He finally stuttered out a “Yes, tea.” She shot Steve an odd look, but headed back towards the drink station.

Steve opened his menu and started looking over the options. “Like I said, it’s not fancy, but everything’s good here.”

Bucky watched Steve a moment before opening his menu one handed. Steve could hear his breathing pick up speed as he looked over the options.

"Bucky?”

“I don’t…” Bucky gave him a helpless look. “I don’t know what I like.”

“It’s okay,” Steve said reassuringly. “No reason to panic. Would you like me to recommend something?”

Bucky nodded. “I…” He frowned and rubbed at his right temple in obvious distress.

“Pancakes,” Steve suggested rapidly. “You used to love pancakes.”

“Okay.” Decision made, Bucky calmed back down. This was good, because Kathy was back with their drinks.

“You know what you want?” she asked focusing on Steve.

“I think I’ll do the cheeseburger today,” Steve answered.

“No onions, extra fries?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And you?” She turned to Bucky.

“Pancakes?” He glanced at Steve as if seeking confirmation. Steve nodded slightly and Bucky relaxed further.

“Sure thing, hon.” The waitress scribbled on her pad, took their menus, and turned back toward the kitchen.

Steve took a moment to squeeze the lemon wedge into his tea, stir it, and take a sip. A beat behind him, Bucky finally brought his gloved left hand out of his pocket to follow suit, except his sip ended in a face.

“Too bitter?” Steve asked.

Bucky seemed to consider this. “Yes?”

“You could add some sugar.” Steve grabbed a packet out of the bowl on the table and dropped it in front of Bucky. “Cut the bitter with sweet.”

Bucky stared at the packet for a moment before picking it up and ripping it open. He dumped the contents, stirred vigorously, and then took another sip.

“Better?” Steve asked.

Bucky glanced at the sugar bowl and then back to Steve. “Maybe one more?”

“If you want, sure,” Steve assured him.

Permission granted, Bucky added more sugar to his tea. This seemed to be what he needed as he then drained half the glass.

“Thirsty?” Steve asked with a smile.

Bucky considered the question, muttering “thirsty” under his breath a couple of times before nodding. “Yeah, that. Thirsty.”

Steve sat quiet a moment wishing Sam was there to give him advice. This was Bucky, but it was a very broken Bucky. He was terrified of doing something wrong and sending his friend on the run again.

“Pictures,” Bucky said suddenly.

“Pictures?” Steve asked grabbing at the opening.

“The…the pictures in the museum. I kept…I think I remembered what…what was going on.” He paused with a frown. “The words didn’t do anything, but the pictures…I knew what colors they were supposed to be.”

“I’ve got a lot of pictures back in my apartment,” Steve said figuratively holding his breath. “The historian who helped put together that exhibit wrote a very detailed biography on me a few decades ago. He gave me copies of all the pictures he had. You want to come look at them?”

Bucky looked confused. “I was supposed to check in,” he muttered. “The mission fell apart. I should have called in. But I didn’t…” He trailed off glancing around the diner and looking very distressed. “They’re going to wipe me again. I don’t want…” He looked back at Steve. “I want to remember. I don’t want to be wiped again.”

“It’s okay, Bucky,” Steve said doing his best to be reassuring and not reflect Bucky’s distress. “Hydra has been torn down. Pierce is dead. They’re not going to hurt you again. You don’t have to be wiped.”

“I don’t?” Steve’s heart nearly broke at that question. “I don’t want to. _I_ don’t want to…”

Bucky seemed to be surprised at what came out of his mouth. He thought it over a moment before looking back up at Steve. “Pierce is dead?”

“Yep,” Steve said nodding. “A couple of people I trust saw the body. He’s not going to hurt you again.”

“And Zola?” Bucky whispered.

“The bunker at Fort Lehigh was bombed all to hell. I don’t think he could have survived it.”

Bucky’s eyebrows came together as he thought. “But…” he seemed to be struggling with something. “What about the satellites?”

“What about them?” Steve asked.

Bucky rubbed his face. “I don’t know! Something about Zola and the satellites. I don’t…they didn’t care if I heard things, but I didn’t always understand…”

He froze a moment and then dropped his hands into his lap. A few seconds later the waitress came by and refilled his tea with a “Here ya go, hon.” He blinked at the glass.

“Add another sugar packet,” Steve suggested as he pulled out his phone. He sent a quick text to Tony and Natasha – _Somebody check out what may be stored in the Hydra satellites. Bucky has them mixed in his head with Zola._

“Bucky? I’m going to have someone look into that, okay?”

Bucky sipped at his refreshed tea and stared at Steve. He finally put the glass down and said, “Okay.” He paused a moment before continuing. “This is real, right? I’m not frozen?”

“It’s real, Buck,” Steve assured with a smile. “And I’m not going to let anyone hurt you, okay?”

“Okay.” Bucky glanced past Steve and then Kathy was back with their lunch.

“You boys need anything else?”

“We’re good, Kathy, thanks,” Steve said with a smile. He grabbed for the ketchup and started to doctor his fries.

Bucky stared at his food a moment before he finally unrolled the napkin wrapped silverware. He carefully divided the small bowl of butter between the three pancakes before dousing the stack liberally with the provided syrup. Slowly he cut out a bite sized portion with his fork and brought it to his mouth. He chewed once and then stopped, considering. He finally finished chewing and swallowed. He took a second bite, his eyebrows drawn down in concentration. After swallowing he looked up at Steve. A crooked smile bloomed across his face.

“I like pancakes.  

***

It took a long time to get Bucky to accept that he could make decisions. Steve started out with simple choices – yes or no, this or that until he was no longer overwhelmed by less than straightforward situations.

Except for the first meal of the day, which was usually as straightforward as you could get.

“So, what do you want for breakfast today?”

Bucky rolls his eyes. “Pancakes. There is no breakfast but pancakes.”

“Okay,” Steve replied with a grin. “Plain or banana nut?”

Bucky frowned at Steve for a moment. “What?”

“Do you want plain or banana nut pancakes?”

“Steve!” Bucky exclaimed flailing his arms. “Don’t make it _weird_ , okay?”

**Author's Note:**

> I've got a couple more story ideas for this !Verse. Not going to promise posting in a timely manner, but I'll see what I can do.
> 
> I'm pheylan13 over on Tumblr, if'n your interested in hearing about my cats and roses.


End file.
